The Promise to Protect
by BlackFrost
Summary: In an attempt to forget Sasuke, Sakura takes a 3 year long mission. During her mission, her charge is kidnapped. Out of loyalty for Konoha, she tries to take the charge out of Akatsuki's hands without getting into too much trouble. Will she succeed?ItaSak
1. The Power of Loyalty

**A/N:** This is my first Naruto fic. But I enjoy writing it. For those who wanted me to continue my other fics, please understand that those have been discontinued for the time being as they are going under serious reconstruction. They will be updated once I can bring myself to it.

As for this piece of fiction, I'm a fan of Sakura/Itachi tales. I just happened to read one of an author's fics (Mitsukishiroi's Evolution, Metamorphosis, Memento, and Salvation) and was suddenly addicted to stories about our favorite pink-haired kunoichi being paired up with the cold brother of Sasuke Uchiha.

Since I'm new to writing this type of anime, I'd like feedback. However, if I get more hits, alerts, and favorites, then I'll continue to write in the manner that I'm writing in currently. But if you think it needs help, I'd like to know.

Also, I'm not sure about this beta thing…if someone could kindly explain it to me, I'd be grateful.

Enough rambling on my part and more reading on yours, so I hope you enjoy!

**Disclaimer:**I don't own Naruto.

* * *

**The Promise to Protect**

_By BlackFrost_

**Chapter One**

_The Power of Loyalty_

"So, you think you're ready for this, Sakura-chan? Are you sure you're prepared for such a long mission?" A certain blonde boy asked worriedly as he gazed upon his best friend's face. "I don'tthink you should go."

"Don't try to stop me, Naruto-san. I want to do this. If I don't, this void will only grow until I can't take it anymore." Sakura replied as she calmly packed her bag, readying herself for the three-year-long A-Class mission.

Being the ever clueless person he was, Naruto gave Sakura a strange look. "What do you mean by void?"

"What I mean, Naruto, is that I need to keep myself occupied so that in time I will forget Sasuke-kun. If not, I'll continue to suffer. I'm not saying that I'm trying to give up on him, in fact, I never will. But I don't want to face the torture of long years of thinking about the past. I'm just trying to get on with life without Sasuke-kun as best as I can but I'll never forget him."

Naruto remained silent throughout her short speech. The topic of Sasuke was still a sore spot for Sakura. He'd observed her reaction every time someone mentioned Sasuke around her. He saw how her eyes would drastically reflect an inhuman loneliness and how it'd seem as though she were in thought.

'_Yup…'_ The Kyubi container thought admittedly. _'She's in love with him…but…' _His thoughts were interrupted when she turned to him and flashed him a half-hearted smile.

"Well, this is it for now, Naruto. Thanks for helping me pack what I _really _needed." She giggled. He'd stuffed her bag with boxes of instant ramen, claiming that the only thing she needed were the noodles to survive.

His grin stretched from ear to ear. "You're welcome, Sakura-chan."

"But you do know I'm not taking everything you'd stuffed in there, right?"

Naruto hung his shoulders in obvious defeat. "Yes…I know," he replied as he began to leave her small apartment. He paused at the threshold of the doorway and looked down at her small frame. "Who're your teammates this time?"

"Um…I think it was Neji-san and Shikamaru-san."

Nodding his head in approval, Naruto flashed Sakura a dazzling smile that rivaled Gai-sensei's famous grins. "That's a good team. Neji and Shikamaru should be able to watch over you."

Sakura frowned slightly. "Naruto-san, I'm perfectly capable of fighting. You should know this already. I don't need them to be constantly guarding me. They're only going to escort me to the manor and come back. That should tell you that I will be alone on this particular mission. There is no way Tsunade-sama would let important ninjas like Neji and Shikamaru stay away from the village just to do an A-Class mission. They're most likely going to have S-Class missions like regular Chunins do."

Naruto could only agree. Nothing was said after this as Naruto departed from Sakura's presence to go home.

Sakura watched him walk away from her small window in the kitchen, feeling forlorn and depressed. When did Naruto ever get so close to her? When had he wriggled his way into her heart and brought out a friendship she'd never felt before with anyone? When had the annoying little brat become her best friend that she could trust and depend on?

She couldn't get an answer for this but, then why would she question their strong bond?

One question, however, still lingered in her head as she checked her bag again.

"When did he get so tall?"

* * *

The next morning Sakura woke up bright and early. She readied herself for a long day and in less than an hour, she was all set. But she failed to notice that it was 3 in the morning and that 99 of the village of Konoha was fast asleep.

She started toward the entrance of the village and sat in the very same bench that she and Sasuke had sat in the day they were assigned into their teams. Memories flooded through her mind and she closed her eyes in honor of those pastimes. This spot was where she'd admitted to Sasuke her admiration for him. But that was a long time ago.

Even now she still admired him and his power. She was still trying to accept the fact that he'd left for one of the legendary Sannin, Orochimaru, just to receive ultimate power. She understood the need and want for power, she'd experienced it many times when people thought of her too weak and defenseless to be left alone in missions. But if he wanted power that bad, couldn't he just continue to study in Konoha? Why go to another village and country?

'_I completely despise that Orochimaru now. Not only did he hurt Sasuke-kun when he put that curse mark, but he also stole Sasuke-kun away from all of us here in Konoha. We're the ones that really care about him…'_ Sakura thought venomously. But then a name suddenly popped up in her head. Just then it dawned on her that it was not completely Orochimaru's fault.

"It's that older brother of Sasuke-kun. It's his fault! He's the one who drove Sasuke-kun to be power-hungry, to accept that snake's offer, to leave his friends in Konoha. It's all that darned brother of his. What was his name again?" She paused a moment to ponder on the man's name. Her eyes narrowed when she was able to recall the man's name.

"Uchiha Itachi…" She hissed murderously.

An icy breeze blew by and whipped her short pink locks in the harsh air. Sakura gasped and sat up straight, green eyes wide. She wasn't expecting a sudden rush of air like that. But something other than that had her senses tingling. She could've sworn she'd heard somebody whisper something in her ear after she muttered the eldest Uchiha's name. She thought she'd distinctively heard someone say, "Yes?"

She shook her head stubbornly and convinced herself that it was only the wind.

Fatigue starting to creep upon her again, Sakura decided to head back to her apartment and try to get as much sleep as she could before the time came for her to leave.

* * *

"Sakura-san, are you in there?"

Groggy eyes snapped open when Sakura heard somebody knock lightly on her door. Sakura sat up and rubbed her eyes before grabbing her discarded bag and heading to the door to answer it. When she opened it she saw Shikamaru and Neji standing before her.

"Sorry guys. I woke up too early and went back to sleep a few hours ago."

Both of the boys nodded their heads, understanding completely.

It was then that Sakura noticed that they had slight bags under their eyes. Did they sleep late and wake up early just like her? She wasn't able to tell and knew it was best not to find out.

"Let's go." Neji said and turned to go, Shikamaru in tow.

Sakura shut her door and locked it securely before following both Chunin ninjas.

After six hours of traveling, with a five minute break every hour, they stood before a large manor just on the border of the Water country. It looked like the large mansions that Sakura had always seen in fairytale books where the evil nemesis would reside. The manor was surrounded by an iron gate that was more than just a bit rusty.

The house itself didn't look too great either. Doors were black with soot as if something had burned long ago and left souvenirs to tell the tale. The roof looked just about ready to crumble and Sakura must've seen at least thirty rats come out of one rat-hole under the floorboards.

She gulped nervously and wondered why she'd taken the assignment. For three long years she'd help manage an estate with a widow whose wealthy spouse had died three weeks after their marriage. The woman's servants had deserted her and she was living on her own. She'd asked a wandering traveler to pass the news to Konoha so they'd send someone. The woman would pay an abundant amount of money to benefit Konoha's funds if they'd send someone to help her get back on her feet.

A grunt was heard at Sakura's side.

"Hmph. How troublesome…" Shikamaru noted monotonously. He cast a wayward glance at Sakura. "Good luck. This place looks like a wreck. I bet the money isn't going that great either. Perhaps it is appropriate for it to be classified as an A-Class mission."

Neji only shook his head pessimistically. "At least you're going to be away from that Naruto and Lee for three years. Shikamaru and I might have them as our teammates at least fifty times while you're gone."

Sakura smiled sheepishly at what they were saying. "Well, thanks for bringing me here even though I don't know why Tsunade-sensei sent high-ranking ninjas to accompany me when Ino and Hinata-san could've escorted me here."

Shikamaru and Neji shared a brief look before turning to Sakura, seeming to have something to tell her. They closed in on her slightly and looked around cautiously.

"Tsunade-sama forgot to mention that you're to do some spying while you're here." Neji started and shifted his stance slightly.

"There are rumors going about that there is a scroll of great importance hidden here in this household. It supposed to have vital information on Konoha. If anybody were to find that scroll, especially our enemies, the village would be in grave danger. We'd experience the same devastation of Orochimaru's ambush if that scroll were to fall into the wrong hands." Shikamaru informed gravely.

"It's part of your mission to find that scroll and return it to the village as soon as possible." Neji put in.

A confused looked flitted by on the kunoichi's face. "Why on earth is a scroll of such value in a dump like this?" She questioned as she pointed to the dismal estate.

"The spouse of the widow was a great ninja in Konoha. He was close to Tsunade-sama and she trusted him to take care of the scroll. He decided to hide it in his house, I guess, for safekeeping."

Sakura sighed exhaustedly. What an interesting mission. She didn't know if people usually took missions like this, but if they did, it must've had its own strange quirks. _'How hard could helping a lady get started again? I bet I could get her back on her feet in less than three years.' _She thought to herself optimistically. She voiced her thoughts and smiled inwardly when Neji and Shikamaru agreed wholeheartedly.

"But then again it wouldn't be an A-Class mission if it were that easy. So whatever comes your way, I wish you good luck. You're going to need it in such troublesome place." Shikamaru stated and glared at the manor.

Neji nodded in agreement.

After a few minutes of going over her mission again, Shikamaru and Neji left to head back to Konoha.

Staring at the estate she'd reside in, Sakura groaned and trudged toward the abode with no enthusiasm in her step.

* * *

A year went by noticeably fast as Sakura did most of the housework. The widow's name was Mishigaki, Ayame. She was incredibly beautiful with her long black locks and piercing green-grey eyes. She wasn't that tall, but she wasn't too short either. Her personality was one that was rarely seen the world today. She was sweet, honest, and kind all at once. Her smile was always filled with happiness.

But one thing Sakura noticed right away was the deep sadness that lingered in her eyes. She could relate to what Ayame was feeling. She'd often felt that way whenever she thought of Sasuke. But Sakura never revealed her similarity of emotions to Ayame, feeling as though it would be too much for both of them.

One particular winter evening, Sakura was cleaning the flooroards when she noticed soft white flakes gracefully land itself onto the floor she'd just scrubbed. Looking up at the ominous dark clouds, she sighed and relished the last of the warm breeze that blew by. She opened her eyes when she heard light footsteps coming her way. She spotted Ayame walking toward her.

"Hi Ayame!" She said cheerfully.

Ayame beamed back and kindly asked Sakura to stop the cleaning. "You've done so much during the past year. Thank you for everything."

Sakura stood up from her kneeling position and brushed off some snow on her shoulders. "Don't worry about it. I'm glad I took this assignment. Otherwise, I wouldn't have met such a wonderful person like you."

Ayama laughed gently. "Well, I think I'll head to the garden and take whatever flowers I have left before the snow decides to smother them." She said and walked off another smile on her face.

The pink-haired shinobi watched her friend's retreating figure before heading off to fix supper. As she passed by the room she slept in, she saw a scroll with the Konoha insignia sealing the rolled up parchment.

At first Sakura stared at it, not knowing what it was for. But then her mind went back to the day that she'd arrived at the Mishigaki residence. She remembered the other part of her mission. She gasped.

"It's the scroll of Konoha!" She whispered excitedly to herself and picked up the scroll.

She inspected it closely and noticed that it was slightly yellow with age. The thickness of the paper prevented any ink from showing. It was also quite light in contrast to the way it practically resembled a watermelon.

Should she open it? If so, what secrets of Konoha did it secrete?

A sudden scream interrupted her chance to decide. Sakura stuffed the scroll in the pouch she carried around her waist and hurried to where the sound of distress came from. She immediately knew it was Ayame, so she hurried to the garden.

She'd underestimated the speed of snowfall once she was outside. The entire area was blanketed in the soft flakes and was quickly beginning to make small snow dunes. The snow had already covered the frail flowers that were in bloom and was on its way to burying anything else. The whole place looked absolutely white. It really was a winter wonderland.

But two dark imposing figures ruined the magic and brought Sakura spiraling back to reality. The look on their faces struck fear to the very core of Sakura's conscience. The tall one was holding Ayame above the floor, by the neck. A large bandaged blade was slung around his shoulders and rested against his back. From the side view, Sakura could see that there were lines that resembled…gills? His pale blue skin eerily matched with the white snow flakes falling to the ground. His black pupils were trained on Ayame's suffocating face. He smirked maniacally.

He wore a navy blue cloak with red clouds. The collar was high enough to cover the lower half of his face. When she looked to his forehead as to which village he belonged to, she saw that he was from the Hidden Village of Mist. But the symbol was slashed with an even line. She could barely see the headband thanks to the hat that he wore.

"Tell me where the scroll of Konoha is." He demanded coolly.

Ayame gasped, trying desperately to break the man's inhuman grip. "I…don't know…what…you're…talking about!" She bit out.

"You lie. Tell me!" He shook her lithe body lightly, giving barely a hint of his power.

Sakura drew a kunai from her pouch and threw it to the man. Just when it was about to hit him, it fell to the ground. Confusion was evident on her face as she tried to make sense of the situation. It was then that she took notice of a third person that hid behind the tall man's dark frame.

Beneath the straw hat, she could see everything under the eyes. His face resembled Sasuke's in such a way that it made her catch her breath. His mouth was obscured by a coat that looked exactly like the man that held Ayame by the throat. His was shorter than the taller man and it would've seemed comical if they didn't look like they were assassins about to complete a mission.

Sakura couldn't see his eyes, but she knew that he was staring directly at her.

She growled protectively at the two intruders and gave them her best emerald eyed death glare. "Who are you, and what do you want?"

The taller man slowly turned his head to let his black pupils stare right at her. That was when Sakura got a good look at the taller man.

'_He looks like…like…a fish!' _She thought, shock flowing through her veins.

The man flashed the pink-haired shinobi a wicked smile, revealing many sharp teeth. "Hello." He said.

Snarling uncharacteristically, Sakura brought out another kunai and prepared herself for a direct attack. "Answer my question!"

The fish man smirked. "My, my, we have a feisty one." He commented dryly.

Sakura lurched forward and took out another kunai and two shuriken. She planned to throw the weaponry at the two men and while they were distracted by the weapons, she could land a hit or two just enough for the tall fish man to let Ayame go. But when she tried to execute her plan, the weapons fell just as quickly as she'd thrown them and she found herself on the cold ground.

A warm hand was tightly wrapped around her neck as it kept her grounded to the floor. She tried to loosen the grip, but found it impossible to even try.

Looking up, she saw that it was the companion of the fish man. His face was still slightly shadowed by his hat, but she could see his features clearly due to the closeness of their faces.

She gasped when she saw his eyes. They were both blood red with three black rings that resembled commas, surrounding the pupil.

'_He reminds me of…'_

Those commas were spinning rapidly and soon Sakura found herself feeling quite drowsy. But one person kept appearing in her mind.

'_Sasuke…' _She thought before she blacked out.

* * *

Half of her expected to see the familiar snowy world she was just in, and the other part of her wanted to see the comfort of her own apartment in Konoha.

But when Sakura opened her emerald eyes to see where she was, she was shocked to find herself lying upon a lake of water with rough clouds speeding across a blood red sky like shooting stars.

Wait a minute, since when was the sky red and when did the clouds ever move that quickly?

Sakura stood up and was about to squeeze the water out of her sopping wet clothes when she noticed that she wasn't alone in the strange world she was in. Looking up, she saw the short man that stood behind the guy who resembled a fish. He still had his hat upon his head, preventing her from seeing his eyes. But Sakura already knew what his eyes looked like. Come to think of it, it was the same color as the sky.

Mustering enough courage to speak, she opened her mouth to say something but her voice refused to sound. Sakura grabbed her throat in shock and once again tried to speak. But no sound came out.

"Your attempts are futile." The man said in a deathly calm voice. He was more than 100 ft. away but it sounded as though he'd spoken those words right in her ear. "While you are under the influence of my Sharingan, you cannot do anything that is of your own will. In this world, I control everything… including you."

She breathed heavily, telling herself this was just a nightmare.

The man walked ever so slowly toward her, effectively making her back up in the process. Every step he took made shivers run down Sakura's spine.

"I can do anything to you. I can torture you when I haven't laid a finger on you, or executed any jutsus."

Gashes of blood appeared on Sakura's arms and legs, oozing the red liquid that supported life.

He took another step. "And since I can torture you and possibly kill you here and back in the world you are familiar with, could you tell me where the scroll

of Konoha is?" It wasn't a question, more like a demand.

Eyes narrowing in protectiveness, Sakura leapt a few inches away, distancing her and the man even more. She attempted to speak again, but still found that she couldn't get a word out.

More slits of blood came and unbearable amounts of pain shot through her, bringing her to her knees. Her eyes began to feel heavy and lidded. She felt like she'd been traveling for days, months actually.

The man remained silent. "See, that's another thing about my sharingan. I can control the amounts of time that a person can feel. Right now, you are experiencing the exhaustion of no rest for the time period of two months."

Unable to keep herself up, Sakura lay on the ground like a wounded animal and began the slow process of recuperating. She couldn't let this man take the scroll. That was something she wouldn't dare let happen! As a shinobi, she vowed to herself that she'd always protect the village of Konoha…even with her life. If dying by this man during a mission, she'd take the responsibility just for Konoha.

But in this particular situation, if she died then they'd take the scroll without even putting up a fight. So in this case, she must stay alive.

Suddenly the man was standing beside her limp body. "Now be a good kunoichi and hand over the scroll. I know you have it."

Sakura shuddered in fear of the man. She'd seen someone like him, someone who resembled him too much. Remembering the thoughts she had before she found herself in the world with a red sky, she immediately knew who this man was.

As if sensing that he'd had his identity figured out, he allowed a ghost of a smirk cross his features. However, he still had a mission to complete. "Give me the scroll, kunoichi."

Struggling to be heard, to say something, Sakura glared spitefully at the man. Ever so slowly she parted her lips and replied, "N-no."

The smirk disappeared in a flash and was replaced by an impassive look. His sharingan eyes contracted slightly. He'd used enough power to make her quiet, to shut her up, but apparently it wasn't enough to keep her silent. He noted his underestimation and decided to let her speak, releasing his hold on her voice.

The moment Sakura felt her voice return, she grimaced at the pain she felt at her sides. Making the decision to not stand up, the pink-haired kunoichi stared up at the man she increasingly began to despise. "I won't ever give you this scroll. It's important to my village. Why on earth would I ever give you a scroll of such value?"

"Because," He drawled lazily. "I'm strong, you're weak. I'm the predator, you're the prey. I'm the murderer, you're the victim. You will die if you don't give me the scroll."

"No!" She snapped and absent-mindedly held the pouch that held the scroll.

"Hm…so that's where it is." He murmured lowly and backed away a few steps.

Sakura looked into his face once again and stared back into the cold, red orbs that he possessed. In seconds she found herself back in the snowy world that she'd been in before. She was sprawled on the ground, still clutching the pouch. She immediately spotted the fish man a few feet away with no Ayame in sight. Where was Ayame?

The effects of the man's sharingan were still keeping Sakura to the floor out of pure exhaustion.

She saw the fish man approach his shorter companion.

"Well, where is it Itachi?"

Emerald eyes widened in realization when she heard what the fish man had said. No wonder he resembled Sasuke so much! He was Sasuke's evil older brother.

Itachi pointed a finger with polished nails at the pouch Sakura was weakly guarding. "Be quick about it. The Leader would like us back soon."

"We take the other lady, right?"

"Yes."

"Okay." He said and turned to look at Sakura's limp form. "Now be nice and let me take the scroll." He crouched down beside her and reached out to take the scroll from the pouch.

Sakura only gripped the pouch harder, feeling this solidity of the scroll beneath the thin cloth.

"Aw, don't put up a fight, missy. Now let me just gently move your hand so I can take this scroll from you." The man grunted and easily pried Sakura's death grip on the scroll with no effort. He eventually brought out the scroll and flashed an evil grin at her before turning to Itachi. "I have the scroll. Let's go!" He tossed the scroll to Itachi and headed on to pick up Ayame who was on the ground about fifteen feet away from her, covered in snow.

Another jolt of pain flashed through Sakura and she cringed. She gasped slightly when a two kunais and shuriken landed a centimeter away from her nose. She looked up at her supposed attacker, inwardly bad-mouthing the man. She briefly wondered why he hadn't killed her yet.

Itachi regarded the girl with an uncaring gaze. "There is no need for death when we've retrieved what we needed." He said evenly with his deep alluring voice. He turned abruptly and vanished into thin air, leaving no traces of his presence except for the footprints in the snow.

She expected to find the fish man still there, but was devastated to see that he had left with Ayame.

Staring up into the night sky, Sakura went over the chain of events that had happened in less than an hour. She failed two missions in one night.

'_How could this be? I've never failed a mission.'_ She thought to herself and breathed in a gulp of air. She'd betrayed Konoha. In her eyes, whenever someone wasn't able to finish the mission assigned to them, they had instantlylet down the trust put into them by Konoha. _'I've betrayed the village, Tsunade-sama, my friends, Naruto, and…and…' _

No…she wouldn't dare think about the boy. But her self-pity got the best of her.

'_I've betrayed Sasuke-kun…'_

* * *

At that thought, a lone tear escaped from her right eye as she slowly closed her eyes in complete exhaustion.

Sakura woke up many hours later still outside but buried in mounds of snow. At first she was confused, but then the memories flooded back and she sighed in dejection. She wished she'd remained unconscious.

Willing herself to sit up, she noticed that the once acute pain had dulled insignificantly. She brushed off the large amounts of the white flakes off her clothes and shakily stood up. The area swirled dramatically and she found herself closing her eyes to focus on standing up straight.

Once she recovered her bearings, she remembered the words Itachi had spoken when she was in that strange world. She didn't want to be weak, to be the prey, to be the victim, and she most definitely didn't want to die. But her curiously firm loyalty to Konoha had her thinking twice about what action she was to take.

Should she go and retrieve Ayame; or run back to Konoha's safe and welcoming environment? Torn between two decisions, Sakura sighed and sat down on the snow coated porch.

Ayame was her charge, her mission, her friend. Was Ayame so invaluable to the kunoichi that she sent her away with two obviously strong nin?

If she went back to Konoha, what in the crazy world had she accomplished?

_**You'll be a true failure, Sakura. If you back down you'll show to the world that you are weak, that you're scared. Is** _**that** **_what you want? Huh?_ **Inner Sakura asked ferociously.

Frowning outwardly, Sakura growled at her rebellious conscience. _'No. NO! I can't let that happen.' _She replied.

'_**Then do something about it. Don't just mope around. Go to Ayame and bring her back!'**_

Finally beginning to see things clearly, Sakura stood up suddenly and regretted that she did a few minutes later as her vision began to swim. But she'd made up her mind. She would bring Ayame back and take the scroll safely back to Konoha. She wouldn't give up.

Walking slowly back to her room to prepare for another trip, Sakura renewed her vow to be loyal to Konoha.

* * *

**Author's Note:**Well, please review! Remember, feedback is good. But no flaming! Thanks. 


	2. The Missing Friend

**A/N: **Yay! I got, at minimum, 7 reviews, but a large amount of hits for just one chapter. You must really love this story to read and leave behind hits instead of reviews (growl). Thank you everyone!

Now in the last chapter, for those of you that read, Sakura was on her mission and was attacked by two strangely dressed men. She later on finds out that one of the men is the brother of her beloved, Uchiha Sasuke. Itachi and his friend have run off with the scroll of Konoha and took Ayame as a hostage. It was after this predicament that Sakura decided to go after her newfound friend and rescue her, along with the scroll, from the clutches of pure evil.

This chapter is not as long as the first (nor as good in my eyes), but I hope you'll still like it and not take me off your alert or favorites list. .

I've just recently started high school (yes, I'm a freshman. :P) so it'll be somewhat harder for me to update. So bear with me if my chapters take so long to be posted.

Also, I'm still confused about this whole beta thing…could someone be kind enough to explain? Thanks…

Again, I am asking you to review. Please and thank you! Enjoy the second chapter of The Promise to Protect.

* * *

**The Promise to Protect**

**Chapter Two**

_The Missing Friend_

Naruto heaved a depressed sigh. It'd been a complete year since his dearest friend had left to execute a mission. He had received letters from her every month, assuring him that everything was okay. But this month he received no such thing. He composed one and sent it to the address she was staying at just a few weeks ago, but no reply came. Naruto was practically on the tip of his nerves just worrying about Sakura.

There he sat in a large tree on the highest branch that oversaw most of the village of Konoha. The sky was as blue as always and the clouds looking as soft and fluffy as a stuffed animal. Beneath the tree that he sat upon, he could hear children laughing as they were dismissed from the academy. He looked a little to the left and saw Ten-Ten and Hinata laughing as they shared some candy with each other.

Seeing everyone else so happy made him feel even more depressed. Especially when he knew that Sakura and Sasuke had a chance at this happiness and gave it up for an ambition.

Seconds later Lee appeared at his side, effectively interrupting his thoughts. The boy clad in green latex jumpsuit with leg warmers grinned with a sparkle as bright as the morning sun.

"Naruto-san, Tsunade-sama is calling for you. You have another mission."

The usually energetic jinchuuriki exhaled sadly. He stood up and nodded at Lee. "Thanks Lee. I'll go see her right now." He said and leapt from the branch he was sitting on.

* * *

"Excuse me, ma'am, have you seen two men dressed in dark coats with red clouds on them? They were traveling with a lady."

The lady standing behind the desk of a hotel located in the Dream country at first shook her head, paused, but then nodded her head enthusiastically. "Yes, yes! I remember them. They were here just a few hours ago. They left with some other man. I remember them because they stayed her for quite some time." The plump receptionist replied.

Sakura nodded, absorbing the information like a sponge. "Do you know which way they went?" She asked hoping that she might follow their trail without once losing an idea of where they were headed. The kunoichi sighed when the receptionist shook her head gravely. Then she fished out her small purse from her pouch and looked at her funds. She decided to rent a room for the night. After receiving her room number, she headed straight for her room and set her stuff aside.

Fatigue made her lie down on her twin sized bed the instant she stepped into the rented space. She hadn't slept since the night that Ayame was kidnapped. It'd been two whole days and she was already at the border of the Dream country. She only had come that far thanks to the crumbs of information coming from witnesses that had claimed to have seen the men.

But this was as far she got without collapsing on the road out of exhaustion. The fact that Itachi had used some sort of genjutsu with his sharingan didn't help either. She was still feeling the effects of his kekkei genkai. Adding two days of traveling without rest just wasn't helping.

Letting her eyes close for just a few seconds, Sakura soon drifted off into a restless slumber.

* * *

A loud thud woke her up from her light sleep a day later. She sat up groggily observing her surroundings. She nearly cried out in shock when she saw a room coated in a light shade of pink with a painting of a sakura tree not far from the door. But then she recalled that she was in a hotel close to the border of Dream.

Wondering what the thud was for, Sakura stood up and stretched. She noted that the sound had come from the room beside her. Feeling resentful (it'd woken her up) and thankful (allowing her to eavesdrop easily) for the thin wall in between each room, Sakura lightly pressed her ear to the wall and listened carefully for any sound. Her interest went up a notch when she heard a somewhat feminine voice speak about a suspicious plan.

"So…you guys are just about done. How lucky you two are…yeah…" A man with a bluish-grey eye drawled unhappily.

"Don't worry Deidara. You and Sasori should be able to finish up soon. You two are probably just slacking off." A familiar voice sounded.

"Shut up, Fish Man. You have a good partner. Anybody that would end up being paired with _him_ would most likely finish their job right away, yeah…" Deidara replied sourly.

Sakura didn't know who this 'him' was, but she knew from the way they'd talked about him that he was extremely powerful. She made a wild guess, hoping that she was correct but not sure yet. She did, however, know who the 'Fish Man' was. All she needed was a verbal confirmation from the man who was currently speaking.

The room became silent after that, as if they were listening for something.

She began to fear that she may have been found out. She'd made sure she hadn't made a single peep, but somehow she was sure that they knew she was there without her making a sound.

There was a short brisk knock on her door. When Sakura didn't answer it, the sound became slightly louder.

Mentally sighing at the persistence of the knocking when she was busy, Sakura stood up quietly and headed for her door. When she opened the door, she saw that it was the receptionist from the front desk. The medic nin gave the lady an inquiring look. "Yes ma'am? Can I help you?"

The lady nodded feverishly. "Miss, you remember when you asking about those men with those dark coats? Well, they've returned."

Emerald eyes narrowing in acknowledgement, Sakura nodded. "Thank you ma'am, you don't know how much this means to me." Sakura whispered. "But which room are they staying in?"

Plump skin paling instantaneously, the receptionist pointed a trembling finger to the door of the next room.

Sakura nodded seriously. "Thank you." She said and shut her door as silently as she could when the receptionist scurried down the hallway.

She seated herself by the wall again to see if she could hear anything. But the moment she'd found a comfortable position, another knock sounded at her door. Groaning in a miniscule amount of annoyance, she stood up and roughly opened the door, expecting to see the lady from the front desk again. "Um, excuse me ma'am but I'm a bit tired from traveling so it would be nice if I could just sleep for a…" She let her words hang as she saw another person other than the receptionist.

"I'm sorry to bother, miss. But is it possible if you have an extra blanket there with you? My friends and I are having a sort of sleepover…yeah…" The man asked politely and beamed a little bit. Or was he a man?

Sakura's mind told her that the person in front of her was a man, but her eyes were trying hard to deceive her. There before her stood a guy with blonde hair tied up in a ponytail and long bangs covering his left eye. His right eye had a bluish-green hue to it. He was pretty tall compared to Sakura, whose height wasn't that notable to begin with. He resembled a girl in a strange point of view.

The more she thought about it, this guy reminded her of Naruto. The blonde hair, the bluish eyes, the easy smile…

He wore a black mesh shirt and loose, crumpled black pants. The article of clothing that caught her attention the most, though, was the forehead protector he wore. It had the symbol of the Stone village with a long even slash marring its crude perfection.

Sakura backed up slightly. "Um…uh…I think I might have a few extra. How many do you need?"

The man scratched his head sheepishly with one of his hands. He began to count slowly with his fingers.

With her keen observation skills, Sakura spotted what looked like a hole in his hand. Her eyebrow rose slightly at the sight. What was wrong with his hand?

He finally finished counting. "Well, I only have three blankets. Do you think you can spare two?"

Nodding curtly, Sakura let her guest in and hurried to the closet to retrieve two cotton blankets. She wasn't expecting him to start a small conversation.

"You have a name…yeah?" He asked kindly, leaning against the wall nonchalantly, blue eye gleaming.

She paused, a few feet away from the closet door. Should she give him her name? It was obvious that this man was a missing nin from the village of Stone. But he did seem friendly enough. Perhaps she could trust him and only him. "I'm Haruno Sakura."

"So it's Haruno, Sakura, eh?" He tested her name on his tongue and grinned after he repeated her name numerous times. "It suits you. My name is Deidara. I used to live in the Stone village…yeah…"

As if sensing this man was going to be a person in whom she could confide with, Sakura smiled for the first time in many days. She thought it was peculiar how he'd add 'yeah' to the end of his sentences. His personality was light and cheerful, full of ease and patience. Yup, this man was definitely someone Sakura could trust.

"Well, if you haven't figured it out already, I'm from the Konoha Village." She replied and took out three clean sheets.

A low whistle was heard from Deidara. "You've come a long way, from Konoha to Dream. What brings you here? I'd like to know…yeah."

Sakura's face shadowed almost instantly, but she quickly recovered by flashing him one of her biggest smiles. "I'm on a mission." She answered defensively, but subtly, and handed Deidara the blankets.

"Ah…I see," He replied took the blankets from Sakura. "Hey! I have an idea! Why don't you come over next door and I'll give you some dinner? Three other guys are there and there's a girl there too. C'mon, you'll have tons of fun talking to me and Kisame." Deidara insisted, not noticing that in his excitement he'd dropped his overused adverb.

'_Should I?'_ Sakura contemplated and was considering Deidara's offer, but when she thought about the possibilityof Itachi being there, she had to decline. "I'm sorry, Deidara-san…"

"Deidara," he corrected kindly. "Only acquaintances say my name with honorifics. You're not just an acquaintance."

She nodded in acceptance, but still continued her kind rejection. "Well, I can't accept the offer Deidara."

"Why?"

Sakura shrugged a bit carelessly. "Just 'cause…"

Deidara stood silently in his spot and appeared to be in thought. Another smile broke through his face as he obviously came up with an idea. "Hold on." He said excitedly and rushed out of the room. He came back with two bowls of rice, a plate of sushi, and a small bowl of fruits. "Since you won't come over, I'll be the one that will!"

Unable to restrain a laugh, she had to giggle at the sight of her new buddy juggling four plates in two hands, she went to go and assist him.

They both had a fun dinner, hushed but nonetheless entertaining. She learned much about Deidara, like how he had a mouth in his each of his hands just to help him in battles. He enjoyed art. But not the art that stood still and motionless. He believed that art was something more…fleeting, as he'd put it. He enjoyed making clay figurines and watching them move. Therefore Sakura had deducted that this man probably had to use his ability to manipulate clay in battle.

Then the moment of truth and confirmation came. She listened to Deidara babble for a few minutes before voicing her question.

"Um…Deidara-san?"

Deidara glared good-naturedly at her for a second.

Sakura scoffed nervously at her mistake. "Oh sorry…Deidara, who are your friends?" She asked quietly, hoping that he'd provide her the right answer.

"Which friends are you talking about? Do you mean the ones next door?"

She nodded.

A lopsided smile squirmed onto Deidara's clear features. "I wouldn't exactly say we're the friends you have in mind. We don't share secrets with each other. But we pretty much do things that friends do. You know, hang out, have something similar to sleepovers, help each other…that kind of stuff…yeah…"

'_He went completely off topic…'_ The rosette haired kunoichi thought unbelievably.

As if knowing her exact thoughts, Deidara apologized. "Oh, you wanted to know their names. Well, there's Sasori, Kisame, and Itachi."

Trying hard to not show that she'd met them, Sakura bit the inside of her lip. "And the girl; what about her?"

Deidara shrugged casually. "Don't know. Some girl they had to take from a mission. They said there was another girl with her that was a kunoichi, but Kisame said that she didn't put on much of a fight…yeah…"

Sakura brightened up a bit when she heard that Ayame was just next door. But she felt disheartened to know that she was still in the enemy's grasp and that the kidnappers thought she was weak. Why did everyone think she was weak?

"Ah…I see." She spoke before silencing herself with a cup of tea, looking out the window with a look of longing and desolation evident in her eyes.

* * *

"What do you mean by missing! She can't be missing. She was personally escorted by Shikamaru and Neji, how can she be MISSING!" Naruto slammed his fist on the wood of Tsunade's desk.

The female Hokage covered her defended her ears by placing her hands over them. Once he ended his short-lived rant she moved her hands to the desk and folded them together. "Listen, Naruto, I'm just as confused as you are. If something had happened, she should've told us."

The jinchuriki's eyes flickered blood red for a second, full of rage and disappointment. "Well, are you just going to sit there? Aren't you going to send out a search party?"

"As much as I'd want to, it's just not possible. Most of the Chunin's and Genin's are out on missions." She replied calmly, holding down her own emotions as well as she could.

Tears welling up in his eyes, Naruto mustered up another death-causing glare. "You're not doing anything! Nobody's doing anything!" He snarled. Crying was not something that was expected, but it suited the moment. He'd first lost Sasuke, a dear friend and rival, and now he lost his best friend? Losing two important people in his life took a major blow on the ignorant blond Chunin. How much more could he, and would he, take?

Tsunade's patience snapped when he'd commented on her act of laziness. She stood up ungracefully and glared down at the younger boy. "Don't you dare accuse me of not trying to help, Naruto. You're not the only one who's been affected by this! Sakura was and still is my student! Why should I act like nothing's happened when she's obviously gone? What is the purpose in me acting like I don't care! Of course I care!"

Naruto bit the inside of his lip in an attempt to bite back any rude comments. His tears had dried up but he immediately saw that Tsunade's had just begun to fall off her delicately youthful face and onto the cold desk. One look at the Hokage made him inwardly admit that she was right and he was wrong. "I…I'm sor-"

"Naruto, you have my permission to go and look at the site where Sakura is supposed to be. The next two Chunins that walk through my door are to go with youl, understand?" Tsunade sniffed and looked to the floor, tears still cascading down her clear countenance.

What else could he do but to agree? "Yes."

He turned to head out of the office. But just as he was just under the threshold, he heard he crumble into another sob. Head bowing in respect, he took one step and paused when she spoke almost inaudibly but loud enough for only him to hear.

"Please bring her back, Naruto." She whispered lightly.

Naruto nodded, his eyes shadowed by his golden locks. Once the door closed behind him, he ran out of the building to head home and pack. But just as he was about ready to leave he remembered the leader's words and exhaled slowly. This situation was reminding him of his mission to retrieve Sasuke. But this time it was different. It was to find Sakura, his best friend.

He grabbed a pillow and smothered his face with it as the long-held tears began to fall.

* * *

Two pairs of eyes glared at the Kyubi container, one a pale shade of violet, the other, an annoyed hue of brown.

"What did I tell you? I knew we'd get stuck with him!" Neji snapped unhappily.

"Stop complaining. You complimented him a few years back so I don't see any reason why you're treating him like sh-"

"Okay! Let's go!" Naruto declared enthusiastically as he rechecked his bag, which he'd hastily stuffed with ramen. Just as he was about to march into the world unknown, Shikamaru growled.

"You don't know where you're going, Naruto. Shouldn't you wait for the persons who've already been to the destination?"

Naruto pouted and hunched his back dejectedly. "Fine…lead the way, Shikamaru."

Shikamaru smirked at the submission of power from the jinchuuriki of Konoha. "Great…" He drawled and leapt into one of the nearby trees, Neji following suit after waiting a few seconds.

Sighing all the while during the travel, Naruto vaguely wondered if Sakura had truly disappeared or not. In his mind hoped she wasn't.

* * *

"Dang, she's good!" Shikmaru gaped in surprise. He was looking at the manor, chocolate brown eyes wide.

Neji had gawked the first few seconds before they'd arrived (he'd used his Byakugan) but now he was trying to avoid looking at it too much.

"What are you guys talking about? Wasn't the house always like this?" Naruto asked confusedly.

A smirk made its way onto Shikamaru's features as he recalled the state that the manor had been in. "Nope Naruto. This house was in bad condition than you can probably imagine. Sakura-san did a well done job." He said positively…surprisingly.

Shikamaru had been telling the truth. The doors were once again pristine white with no soot, the roof looked brand new, the floorboards looked scrubbed, the iron gate no longer looked rusty, and the rat hole that contained numerous rats was filled in with thick wood. The house looked like a model home.

Naruto smiled gleefully. "I can't imagine this house looking bad at all."

"Let's not forget our mission." Neji spoke flatly as he made his way through the gate, wanting to get over with the mission as quickly as possible.

Naruto's face shadowed almost instantly as Sakura's smiling face flashed through his mind._ 'Sakura-chan you better be here…'_ He thought gruffly and shifted uneasily in his jacket.

The three of them passed through many halls and corridors, trying to find the room where Sakura resided. They finally found it when the found a silver nameplate just outside a particular door. Shikamaru tapped lightly on the door for five minutes…nobody answered.

Neji knocked heavily on the door for five minutes as well…still no answer.

Naruto by now had fallen asleep in the ten minutes that the other two had been using to try to get Sakura to open her door. He woke up on a certain loud knock and yawned. Irritated blue eyes glared at the other two. _'How lame can these two get? I'll show them how it's done…'_ He concluded arrogantly.

Roughly pushing Shikamaru and Neji out of the way, Naruto stood in front of the door and calmed down his energy. After a few moments of meditation, he brought up his right leg, violently kicked down the door, and casually walked inside, leaving the other two gaping open-mouthed at the damage.

The moment the blond Chunin set foot in Sakura's room, her scent overwhelming his inhuman senses. He closed his eyes for a moment and took a few moments to breathe in the air. It smelled like her apartment. He could imagine her residence back in Konoha, nice, neat, and clean. But when he opened his eyes, the sight that lay before him shocked him out of his mind.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Aha! A cliffie chapter. Hehe...what fun...nonetheless, I hope you enjoyed it. Again, not my best chapter. But I've only written two so far...I think it didn't go to well...

Anyway, I've been checking my stats on daily as I continued to write this chapter. It disappoints me at how many reviews I've received when there are more than 100 hits. Please people, and author's second joy (besides reading other good stories) on this sight is receiving reviews on their work, whether they be critically constructive or just pure support. So I will stress this fact again, PLEASE REVIEW! Thank you.


	3. If You Value You and Your Friends Life

**A/N: **Hey everyone! Thanks for the reviews. :) It went from a 7 to a 17. A whole 10 reviews! The hits on this story also went to a new high. When I saw how high it was, I just sat there staring at the number for a moment before it registered. Hehe…my mind sort of froze for a second…

A question was asked about Itachi and Kisame and how they'd be able to sense Sakura's chakra when (in my previous chapter) they didn't. I know that these two have enough power to do such a thing, but keep in mind I was focusing mostly on Sakura. She wouldn't be able to tell if they knew she was there or not. But for now, my answer to the question is that I did that intentionally because I'm planning to use that piece of info in the near future…the _very near_ future (if that wasn't a big enough clue, please think harder…).

There was also a bit of advice given to me about Deidara's open personality. Let me just say that I'm not well acquainted with Deidara's attitude or the way he acts. It makes absolute sense for him to be secretive and I portrayed him incorrectly in the last chapter. I apologize for that. The only thing I know for sure about Deidara is that most of the time he'd add 'yeah' to the end of his sentences. But other than that and the way he looks, I'm at sea (if that made any sense). But yeah…I apologize for that piece of info. I'll be sure to make him a bit more "tight-lipped" as they'd say (and if you don't know what that means or you haven't heard of that expression before, then just know that I might be going crazy).

In Chapter Two we found out that Naruto had been sent on a mission to find and, if seen, retrieve Sakura. His companions are Hyuga Neji and Nara Shikamaru, the very same people who had taken Sakura to her assigned job a year ago. Meanwhile Sakura is having a pleasant evening with her new friend, Deidara. She finds out that he is part of Akatsuki, the group that had captured her friend Ayame. By now, in another country, Naruto, Neji, and Shikamaru have finally reached the Mishigaki manor and found Sakura's room. Upon breaking and entering (regards to Naruto), they find something rather shocking…

This is the chapter after a rage building cliff hanger. Ehe…this way I know you'll review. ;D So yeah…you know the routine. Read and review, both are important and require a balance. If you read, you must review. But if you review, you must have something to review about. So if you read and don't review, then where is the fairness, balance, and equality in that:D Anyway yeah…point is, RR, and most of all, have fun while doing so!

* * *

**The Promise to Protect**

**Chapter Three**

_If You Value You and Your Friend's Life…_

Sakura tossed and turned in her comfortable bed that night. The nightmares that haunted her switched randomly between important events in her life such as the time she was assigned with her teammates of Team 7, telling Sasuke about her crush on him, Sasuke leaving, Ayame being kidnapped…it all varied. But the ones that flashed into her mind the most were the ones that caused her to feel horrible. Sasuke leaving and seeing Ayame taken away from her were the main ones that kept returning back.

The thin bed-sheets suddenly became too hot so she kicked it off her body and tried to let any cool wind breeze blow past her. No such event occurred so she stood up and walked toward the window, opened the curtains, and let the window fly open. The icy chill of the midnight zephyr met her face and she welcomed it with a small ghost of a smile.

Feeling refreshed, she turned around to head back to her bed to get a good night's rest. She lay in her bed, desperately trying to catch the sleep that so cunningly eluded her. The pale moonlight shone through the open window, casting an eerie glow on Sakura's bed. It seemed so peaceful…

Suddenly everything around her faded from her vision and was replaced with a black void. Sakura, at first, thought it was sleep finally coming to her, but then she noticed that she was truly awake. This greatly disturbed her, especially when she began to hear Naruto's voice echoing all around her. She also heard Shikamaru and Neji's voice, calling out her name. She began to scream out their names in hope of being found. But like the moment she was under Itachi's genjutsu, she found that she couldn't mutter a word.

'_W-what happened to my voice?'_ She thought frantically, thinking that Itachi had been up to his tricks again. But he couldn't have. He didn't know she was there! Or did he…?

Brushing the possibility away, Sakura focused on finding her friends. The voices were coming from all around her. Neji's voice would come from her left while Shikamaru's came from her right. The one voice she tried to follow was Naruto's for he was her closest friend. But his voice was the hardest to follow for it came from all over. This was also because he seemed to be screaming the loudest, effectively lessening the volume of the other two.

Then, as if an answer to a silent prayer, three lone figures emerged from out of the darkness, the outline of their bodies clearly visible in the dark environment. Sakura knew and recognized the silhouettes and ran to them excitedly. She waved her arms frantically in hopes of calling their attention, but they gave no clue to show that they'd seen her. They continued to walk and call for her.

Sakura felt the immediate urge to sprint toward the three familiar people, but her feet felt glued to the floor. She tried to move, but she couldn't no matter how hard she tried.

The darkness surrounding her then cleared up and showed a scene of a snowy forest. The trees were bare due to the weather, their branches barely supporting large amounts of the snowflakes. Cold, grey clouds covered the usually blue sky. No sunlight shone through the leafless treetops as the snow continued to fall.

There she stood in the middle of a well-trodden path, staring far into the distance. She attempted to move, but Sakura found that her feet still refused to move. Her mind was brought from her pointless efforts to the voices of Naruto, Shikamaru, and Neji. She looked up and nearly cried out in glee when she saw them running down the road she stood on. They seemed to be running toward her, so she cracked a smile a waved her hands in greeting.

Her emerald eyes narrowed slightly in disappointment when they acted as though they didn't see her. She frantically gestured to them, but they still didn't see her.

"Sakura-chan, wait! Stop running!" Naruto screamed and doubled his speed, Neji and Shikamaru following suit.

'_What the…? Stop running? I'm standing right here…'_ She thought confusedly.

A rush of wind blew past her as she looked to her right. She saw a blur of black, red, and pink rush by. Her eyes widened when she recognized the colors. She looked behind her to see where the person had gone, trying to confirm her suspicions. The figure had stopped not too far from where Sakura stood. There, under a straw hat, a flash of vibrant pink locks revealed itself in the snowy land. The person still had their back facing the direction Naruto and his companions were coming in, but Sakura already knew who it was.

Naruto, Neji, and Shikamaru had finally caught up. They stood in a row beside Sakura, facing the person garbed in a black cloak with crimson clouds here and there on the cloak. The straw hat omitted any visibility of the face, giving the wearer an air of mystery. But Sakura didn't need to see the face to know that it was her beneath that hat. Sakura decided to just watch things unfold; hoping that the unvoiced questions zipping through her mind would be answered.

A growl emitted from Naruto's throat as he saw how hard it was to bring his friend back. "Sakura-chan, please return to Konoha. We're all very worried about you!" He pleaded desperately.

A long, awkward silence followed, neither person wanting to say a thing…yet. Still shielding her face with her straw hat tilted forward, Sakura opened her mouth to reply, "It cannot be done, Naruto. I am still on a mission in which I must complete. You will all see that I am not a failure, a person who needs constant protection from the outside world. That's why you three are here, to bring me back to the secure environment of Konoha."

"Sakura-chan…"

"No, Naruto! I will come back when I'm ready to come back." She barked and began to sprint away from the sight, applying chakra to her feet for an extra boost of speed. But just as she was about to reach a good distance from them, she couldn't move…again. Looking down she saw that her feet were standing apart and that there was a long black shadow reaching out from across the ground.

_Shikamaru…_

But, how could he be doing it? There was no sunlight…

A small cloud slowly dissipated, letting the hidden glory it was obscuring for so long to shine through. Surely and steadily the snow that blanketed the forest began to disappear as well.

Sakura tried moving her head to catch a glimpse of the people trying to bring her back against her will, but Shikamaru's Kagemane no Jutsu (Shadow Imitation Technique) was holding her securely in place. She tried to growl, but it ended up sounding like a whimper.

Naruto shook his head and began to approach Sakura's still form, Neji following a few paces back. But just as they were about to reach the roseate kunoichi, another blur of black and red slipped by Shikamaru and Naruto, sending them to the ground, unconscious. The hold that was fastened on Sakura loosened and eventually let go, enabling her to move again.

Neji, however, with his powerful Byakugan, lasted a bit longer before he too fell to the ground.

The assailant was nowhere to be seen after that. But just as soon as she thought she was safe, she was whisked away by the same assaulter and was forcefully pulled into the depths of the deep forest.

The real Sakura still stood in her spot on the middle of the road. She glanced at the bodies that lay unconscious on the floor, eyes widening in questioning. _'I turn against them? I turn against the people from the village I love the most? What has gotten into me?'_ She thought confusedly.

Reality snapped back into her mind as she thought of helping her fallen friends. She was, however, pulled out of the world and landed in the one that was harsh and familiar. There she lay on her bed, contemplating the chain of events that had just appeared before her own eyes. _She_ would betray her friends. _She_ would betray Konoha. _She _would betray Naruto. The final thought involved a certain raven-haired boy in whom she'd fallen in love with all those years ago but she dismissed it quickly, trying her best to not think about him.

Sakura sat up from her bed, a cold sweat upon her brow. What was that dream she'd just witnessed? Was it even a dream? Perhaps it was some form of a premonition where you only had the visions during your sleep. She thought about it…Nah, it seemed utterly ridiculous. What kind of psychic are you if only received your visions at night in your sleep? A thought entered her mind and she squashed it like a bug. There was no way she'd call it intuition.

The window that she'd opened last night was still ajar, wide enough to send a gust of wind sailing through. While looking out the window, Sakura noticed the environment outside. There was still snow outside on the trees, but there was also sunlight, a sign that the clouds in the sky were slowly starting to disintegrate.

She strode toward the window and indulged in the beauty of the scenery. Eyes half lidded with the feel of fresh sleep, Sakura made her way back to the bed, intent on sleeping her way through the rest of the morning. The moment her head hit her pillow, the door to her room slid open with a loud _click._ She turned to see who'd invaded the privacy of her room, a death glare already in place. But it vanished when she saw who was standing at the door.

"Hey Deidara." She spoke groggily and proceeded to continue her sleep.

The blond man gave Sakura an I-can't-believe-you're-still-going-to-sleep look and sauntered over to the edge of her bed and roughly poked her on the shoulder. He snickered slightly when she rubbed her sore shoulder. He went on to poke her elbow. This caused her to try to alleviate the acute pain by once again rubbing the spot.

'_One more time, and she'll be up…yeah.'_ Deidara thought mischievously. His hand went to her mid-riff and he jabbed his index finger onto her stomach, pulling back only when she sat up, eyes full of momentary anger.

She grabbed on of her stuffed pillows and flung it forcefully at Deidara's head, sending him flying to the ground due to the impact. "Okay! I get it. I'm up. 'Ya happy?" She snapped in mock anger. In seconds she was chuckling lightly at the sight of the fallen blond.

Deidara sat up, his one eye gleaming. "Wow…you know me pretty well. I didn't say a word to you, yet you knew what I wanted." He stood up and brushed himself off, seeing the tiny dirt particles still clinging to his entirely black outfit. "But I woke you up to tell you that my friends and I will be leaving today."

Sakura stared at Deidara with a bit of confusion filling her eyes. "What do you mean?"

"We're leaving, as in going to another land…yeah…"

Alarm filled Sakura's senses as the information finally processed into her mind. What should she do? Going any further into another country would take her farther from Konoha's reach, possibly eliminating any form of assistance on her part if she was found out. She was already a good distance away from the Leaf Village. Any sensible and knowledgeable shinobi would head back to the village and have a failed mission instead of following a group full of missing nin to a land where Konoha was millions of miles away. Doing the latter would mean certain death and the person trailing the dangerous group must've been suicidal.

But Sakura knew her limits. She is a powerful medic nin with a large amount of chakra to back her up in times of trouble. She wasn't known as Tsunade's top student and successor for nothing.

She nodded, completely understanding the words her friend had spoken. "Okay. Which land are you heading to now?"

"The Land of Thunder, yeah."

"Thunder?" She exclaimed softly, the shock still coursing through her veins. "Why are you guys heading to Thunder?"

Deidara chuckled. "We have our reasons…yeah…"

"But that's so far…" Sakura whispered, hoping that he didn't hear what she'd just stated.

Unfortunately for her, he did hear comment. "I know. It's quite a ways from your village of Konoha, eh, Sakura-chan." He spoke quietly, a mysterious air taking over the once comfortable atmosphere. His voiced changed in tone too, as if he knew something and was going to reveal it to her. "Why are you really here, Sakura?"

Sakura recalled last night's conversation and stood up from her bed. She suddenly felt like a caged animal, fearful of the one who had caught her. "I-I already told you, Deidara. I'm here on a mission." She backed up ever so slowly to the medium sized window.

Deidara's eye narrowed unnoticeably as he focused on her face, checking to see if she had anything to hide. "What sort of mission?" He asked and began to advance in her direction. He had also strangely dropped his adverb that usually tagged along at the end of his sentences and in doing so, his character changed a bit.

"To watch over someone, you know…the usual." She spoke nervously and froze when she felt the cold wall flat against her back, preventing her from backing up any further.

"Yes…you're the one who's supposed to be watching over the young lady we have in our captivity, yeah?"

What was the use in hiding the facts when it seemed as though he already knew? She saw no reason in keeping it a secret any more, so she nodded her head in confirmation.

By now he was already well into her personal space, standing less than a foot away from her. He leaned in, his face inching closer to hers. "Why is a little kunoichi like you following missing nin when your mission is obviously dangerous?"

Sakura gulped. She hadn't expected such a question from him. Shock still flowed through her, so she never gave a reply due to her frantic nerves. She didn't like how close he'd suddenly come.

One hand was pressed up against the wall to support him while the other hung limply at Deidara's side. His head tilted to the side a bit and he regarded the kunoichi with an amused gaze, bluish-green eye beaming malevolently. "You don't have to tell me. It's all right, Sakura-chan," he whispered suddenly in her ear. "But it'd be best for the life of you and your friend if you'd stop your eavesdropping and stalking antics."

Emerald green eyes widening in surprise, Sakura stared at the missing nin with a look of disbelief written all over her face. "How'd you know I was listening?" She asked, her voice amazingly coming out.

Deidara chuckled slowly. "You should know by now that all Akatsuki members are exceptionally powerful missing nin. What kind of person, or group, would we be if we couldn't do something as simple as sensing another ninja's presence and chakra power?"

"But I couldn't feel any of yours!" She protested weakly.

"But of course. Why should we make our presence known to the enemy?" He paused, stood up straight, and straightened his slightly rumpled clothes. The moment after he did this, a crisp knock sounded at the open door. Standing just outside the threshold stood the strange shark-man Sakura had seen before. "Ah, Fish Man, it's time to go already?"

The man nodded. "We leave now, Deidara." He rasped demandingly, beady eyes slightly vexed at the name he'd been given by the blond.

Deidara beamed boyishly. "Of course, Fish Man," he spoke kindly and turned back to Sakura. "Remember, Sakura-chan, that if you value you and your friend's life, you'd cease following us…yeah."

He gave her a knowing look and slowly stalked off to follow the tall man who still remained at the door. "Were you guys waiting long, Kisame?"

"Shut up and walk." Kisame snapped and stalked off behind Deidara.

Sakura still leaned against the wall, feeling terribly uncomfortable. She went over everything that had transpired and slid down the wall, arms placed lifelessly to her sides. She curled up her legs and assumed the fetal position. She buried her head in her knees and shut her eyes. When had making decisions become so hard? Why had she been so careless as to let Ayame get captured in the first place? What made Sakura so dull, dense, and dimwitted? The kunoichi had no clue…

She gave a sad laugh, disappointed at her for failing once again. But now she had to make a vital decision. Would she or would she not go? This posed as a problem, especially since Deidara had given that warning that meant only one consequence if it went unheeded again…

Letting her head rest against the wall again, Sakura let out a dejected sigh, still contemplating on whether she should go… vaguely, in the back of her mind she wondered how Naruto and the others were doing.

* * *

Naruto gaped at what he saw in Sakura's room. Things were as neat as ever, papers neatly stacked, bed made, no dirty clothes pile…but, there, beside the full bed was a large, gargantuan hole. It completely contrasted with the tidiness of the room, marring its simple cleanliness. The edges of the puncture were still a bit jagged and rough, but the gap was nonetheless perfect in shape and enormous in size. 

He stepped slowly toward the hole and changed his gawking expression to one of seriousness, penetrating blue eyes narrowed in concentration and concern. Only one person could've made a hole of the magnitude. He silently wondered why she hadn't taken the whole entire wall down and had settled with just a large circle. He voiced his question to the other two.

Shikamaru nodded, intrigued as well. The gears in the genius' mind had just begun to spin when he'd thought up of his answer. "It's obvious; she didn't want to demolish the whole building. This place is of great importance to her."

Neji nodded, Byakugan still activated. He searched about the room for any significant clues that might've led to Sakura's whereabouts. When he found none, he deactivated hi kekkei genkai and looked at the other two. "She must've befriended her charge." He concluded quietly.

"That makes sense. Her friend must've wanted this building to stay up." Shikamaru agreed.

They continued to discuss the possibilities as time around them flew by unnoticeably. It was then that Neji and Shikamaru had figured out that she might've found the scroll of Konoha. Why else had she gone missing? Someone must've stolen the scroll and had taken Sakura's charge along.

"She's being too loyal." Neji spat, crossing his arms and glaring at the gigantic opening in the wall.

"Sort of…how troublesome of her…" Shikamaru concurred.

Naruto clenched and unclenched his hands in trying to control his anger. Why had she left? She could've gone back to Konoha and asked for assistance from other Chunin, especially if the kidnapper had the scroll of Konoha. If not, then why did she endanger her life by following the assailant?

'_She should've gone back home and failed the mission.' _Naruto thought irritably. _'It's better than losing your life over someone you don't know that well!'_

He pushed himself off the side of the wall that was still intact. He folded his arms in the same manner as Neji and with his authoritative manner in effect, he snarled, "Well, why are we still in this place? Let's leave! We need to follow her!"

"Don't be foolish, Naruto! Hokage-sama had instructed us to look around and if we found her, we'd bring her back. We cannot go after her. Whoever captured Sakura's charge must be powerful. Sakura is strong, but for someone to take a person of endearment from her would most likely be powerful," said Shikamaru. "Don't go through all that trouble. You could possibly end up dead even with your large amount of chakra, or maybe worse…"

The jinchuriki's face darkened to a certain degree. "What could be worse than death?" He growled questioningly.

Neji shook his head and sighed. "There's not enough time for explaining that right now. If you want to rescue your friend, then we're going to have to go back to the village to ask Hokage-sama for permission to arrange a search party. The less we argue, the quicker we leave. The quicker we leave, the better the chances of possibly getting other chunin to join."

Naruto's face brightened up a bit. "Is that so? Awesome! We're going to find her, you guys! Believe it!" Naruto declared and enthusiastically leapt out of the hole Sakura had made days ago.

"N-Naruto, you have to wait for your teammates before you leave!" Shikamaru cried and followed Naruto's example, Neji imitating move as well.

But his words were lost on the Kyuubi's container's ears as Naruto dashed away from the premises._ 'I'm going to find you, Sakura-chan. Just you wait and see. I'll find you.'_

* * *

"Good job Kiba and Shino." Tsunade beamed at the two. At the sound of Akamaru's booming bark, Tsunade rolled her chocolate brown eyes and smirked. "You too Akamaru," she acknowledged reluctantly. 

The two Chunin boys sat in Tsunade's office, awaiting their next mission. They'd just completed an A-Rank mission and were working hard to becoming a Jonin. They had just completed sixth mission that month. It was one of the most tiring missions they'd received, but they'd rested overnight and the next day they were ready, once again, to face another mission.

Akamaru's nose twitched slightly as a peculiar scent wafted into his nose. He whimpered slightly and covered the top of his head with his two paws as though he were to block a blow to the skull.

Kiba noticed this in his closest friend and instantly checked on the canine. "What's wrong, Akamaru?" He asked, concern lacing his boyish voice. That's when he picked up on the scent too. At first he narrowed his eyes in a manner similar to vexation, but then it turned into an annoyed frown. "Oh great…" He returned to his seat and crossed his arms, slouched lazily in his seat, and sighed.

Shino had witnessed the whole event from the moment Akamaru had covered his head to the time that Kiba had sat back down. Knowing the worried look on the dog and the nonchalant expression on Kiba's face caused Shino to wonder a bit about what they'd sniffed. Tuning his hearing senses and sending a small amount of insects to spy on the building, Shino soon discovered that there was a small commotion ensuing on the first floor. The moment his insects came back, Shino viewed everything that they'd seen. A sigh escaped his lips and he inwardly laughed at what he saw.

'_Darn it…why is it so hard to pick a difficult mission for these two? It's their seventh now and they're still ready for more missions!'_ Tsunade thought frustratingly. She was too caught up in various thick folders to notice the rise in chakra from a certain shinobi on the first floor. "Hm…what should you guys do next?"

Akamaru shifted uncomfortably while Kiba and Shino sat there, trying to ignore the slight tremors coming from one of the floors below them. Those tremors slowly grew in magnitude and force, causing the building to shake intensely. Tsunade still, to Kiba and Shino's surprise, acted like she had not noticed that her whole office had shaken violently. Some books on the shelf nearby clattered to the floor with a loud and noticeable _thump_.

"No! You're going to let me through! I don't care if she's in a meeting! This is important, so unhand me!" A muffled voice cried. A second after the voice was heard a loud crash and another tremor reverberated throughout the building.

Kiba and Shino silently chuckled at the sound of their good friend's voice. From the distance of the sound and tremors, both could tell that the loud-mouthed teenager was just outside the door. He was yelling at the two guards that stood outside in the hallway, guarding the entrance to their precious Hokage.

When the two guards refused, a short scuffle took place. There were many shouts and bangs on the door that had voices that told of the pain they were experiencing at that moment.

Tsunade looked up from her work with an annoyed frown gracing her features. Her brown eyes had a look of absolute indifference. She looked at Kiba and Shino, concluding that they'd known long before she had. "It's Naruto, right?"

Shino and Kiba could only nod.

"Let that be a lesson to you two that you shouldn't mess with Uzumaki Naruto! Next time you do, you're going down all the way!" Naruto screamed at the retreating guards. He turned back to the door and kicked it down, receiving the same reaction from the door similar to the door he'd physically abused back at Mishigaki's house.

Once the door was down, he pointed directly at Tsunade. "Tsunade-sama, you are going to send out a search party, right?" Naruto half-asked, half-demanded emotionally.

With a hand propped up to support her youthful face, Tsunade glared at Jiraiya's successor. "What are you talking about, Naruto? Why would we need to send out a search party?" She asked monotonously.

"Because, Tsunade-sama, Sakura-chan has gone missing!" Naruto replied and walked up until he'd reached the desk and glared at the leader of Konoha.

Tsunade's eyes widened a considerable amount and moved her face from her hand. "So that report was true? She is truly missing?" She asked, her voice suddenly small and thin, not willing to register the fact that her star student was somewhere in the dangerous world traipsing about many evils.

Naruto nodded and proceeded to give out the information when Shikamaru and Neji crawled in.

"N-Naruto! We… told you… to… wait for…us!" Shikamaru gasped and gulped down a colossal amount of air.

"What the heck…is wrong with…you? We don't have as much…chakra or stamina as you…" Neji spoke semi-exhaustedly. He clearly had more control on his breathing due to all of his training.

The Kyubi container waved his hand at them as if to say 'whatever'. He turned back to Tsunade and gave the facts that she had to hear. Shikamaru and Neji, once they'd recovered from their lack of breath, added tidbits of data Naruto had forgotten.

The Hokage listened intently, eyes shut in concentration. When they'd finished their report, she looked at all of them, a vexed look upon her face. "Alright…I'll send all five of you on a search party. Naruto, Neji, Shino, Shikamaru, and Kiba," She paused when she heard Akamaru bark again. "Six of you including Akamaru, will go on a mission to find and retrieve Haruno Sakura. If anyone gets in your way, don't kill them. You know the rules…" She spoke quietly and turned around in her swivel chair to look over the grand village she governed.

The six of them all stood in a straight line; awaiting the moment she'd say they'd begin their mission. Their eyes held no hint of uncertainty or fear, just seriousness.

"_Tomorrow_ you shall leave for this mission. Let Neji and Shikamaru rest more…"

"But-!" Shikamaru nearly protested.

"Then you will all report back to my office so I can officially start you on your mission." She spoke calmly and said nothing more.

The five of them took this as their signal to leave, so they did, Akamaru following suit.

* * *

All of them were back in Tsunade's office bright and early before the sun had splashed their part of the world with its morning glory. They twitched when they saw their leader with her head on her desk, sleeping. They didn't want to disturb her in fear of her using her superhuman strength on them, so they woke Shizune up from her peaceful sleep. 

"Tsunade-sama, Tsunade-sama, please wake up! Tsunade-sama!" Shizune cried. She eventually had to resolve to violently shaking the blond lady.

Soon enough the Hokage awoke. She sat up and looked around. "Wha-?" She asked confusedly.

"Tsunade-sama, don't forget our mission." Naruto spoke impatiently. He told himself not to scream at his mentor's close friend for having a sheet of paper attached to the side of her cheek.

"Oh…that's right…" She said groggily. She peeled off the paper and rubbed her cheek. Shizune supplied the Hokage with a small, wet towel to wipe her face and make her presentable.

"Okay…are all of you ready?" She inquired kindly, still partially asleep.

The five Chunin boys nodded. Akamaru barked.

"Alright then, go on and begin your mission. Bring back the scroll of Konoha and Mishigaki-san if they are spotted as well." She instructed and watched them disappear before her eyes. She looked out her large window and spotted their silhouettes leaping over buildings large and small, and out into the distant lands awaiting them.

* * *

Long flowing black hair tucked behind her ear, Sakura eyed her reflection in the mirror set up in the room. Shiny brown eyes gleaming, she smiled mischievously. She'd purchased a wig to hide her natural, yet unnatural, hair color. With a simple genjutsu she'd changed her eye color. Now she looked more like an ordinary girl. She'd also bought different attire and stuffed her old one in her backpack. 

'_Does Sasuke like ordinary girls?'_ She thought carelessly and immediately regretted doing so. Memories flooded her mind as she saw his face twisted in pain, anger, loneliness…most of them, she'd noticed, didn't have any smiles. The things she'd seen that were ever close to a smile were just cocky smirks that were directed at Naruto.

She desperately tried to push Sasuke to the back of her mind, but she found out that she couldn't. The feelings that she'd bottled up before were unleashed and now were coming at her with full-power. Unable to feelings and memories all at once, the rosette haired kunoichi crumpled to the ground and let out one short sob. No tears, however, poured from her eyes. She believed that she'd gotten past crying for him. She was stronger than that.

There it was again, that word…stronger…the word echoed in her mind as she tried to recollect herself. Thinking of the word repeatedly only help her to recuperate and stand up once again to face everything.

She_ would_ be stronger one day and on that day, she'll stand strong and proud, glad that she could conquer anything. But for the time being, she focused on fixing her slightly disheveled look.

A few minutes after her self pep-talk, she walked out of the hotel she'd been residing in for the past few days. Her mind was made up. She'd continue her mission and retrieve Ayame, and more importantly, the scroll of Konoha.

* * *

**A/N:** Well, there you have it! Chapter 3 of The Promise to Protect. It's longer than the first chapter. :) Cheers for that! 

_"Well, why are we still in this place? Let's leave! We need to follow her!"_- You won't believe how many obscene words I could've fit in there! I was going to, but decided against it since I'm not the type that curses frequently. Ehe…yeah…just wanted to share that with you readers.

So, what'd you think? Like I said earlier, I'm not on a person who's well acquainted with Deidara's traits. So if you think he was acting a bit too strange earlier in the chapter, then I apologize in advance. I don't like to redo my work unless it's absolutely dire and important. But if you have pointers on Deidara's character, please tell me so that in later chapters I can characterize him differently!

Basically the same as always! Review!

-BlackFrost


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